‘He’s a little rascal': New photos show William and Kate with newborn Prince George at Middleton family home

The Duke of Cambridge described his newborn son as a “little bit of a rascal” yesterday as the first official photographs of the four-week-old future king were released.

Wrapped up in a white blanket, Prince George sleeps cradled by his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, as his proud father casts a protective arm around his family in the intimate pictures.

In his first interview since his son’s birth on July 22, the Duke said he and his wife were enjoying being parents but were looking forward to being able to sleep through the night again.

He added that Prince George was “doing very well” and reminded him of himself and his brother, Prince Harry, when they were children.

“He’s a little bit of a rascal, I’ll put it that way,” he said. “But he’s a little fighter. He wriggles around quite a lot. And he doesn’t want to go to sleep that much, which is a little bit of a problem.”

The new photographs released by Kensington Palace were taken this month by the Duchess’s father, Michael Middleton, in a shady spot in the garden of his house in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

In one of the pictures, the royal trio were joined by their black cocker spaniel, Lupo, and Tilly, a golden retriever belonging to the Middleton family.

The 31-year-old Duke disclosed that he had practised fitting his baby seat into the car before he drove Prince George and his wife home from St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, central London.

He admitted he was “terrified” that he would get it wrong and the seat would fail to fasten into the base in front of the world’s media. “I know there’s been speculation about that. I had to practise, I really did. I was terrified that it was going to fall off or it wasn’t going to close properly. So, I had actually practised with that seat, but only once before,” he said.

Of his decision to get behind the wheel himself, he said: “I very much feel if I can do it myself I want to do it myself. And there are times where you can’t do it yourself and the system takes over or it’s appropriate to do things differently.

“But I think driving your son and your wife away from hospital was really important to me. And I don’t like fuss so it’s easier to just do it yourself. I didn’t stall. Well, it’s an automatic, so it’s all right.

“I’m reasonably headstrong about what I believe in, and what I go for.”

Recalling the moment when he and the Duchess emerged from the hospital with Prince George in a moment that was televised around the globe, the Duke said they were “happy to show him off to whoever wanted to see him”.

He added: “I think I was on such a high anyway. As any new parent knows, you’re only too happy to show off your new child and proclaim that he is the best-looking or the best everything.